What Exactly Are ‘Rogue One’s’ Politics In A Trump America?

Rogue One: A Star Wars Story has only been in theaters for a few short hours and it’s already at the center of a political controversy. One of the film’s screenwriters, Chris Weitz, tweeted out against President Elect Trump and likened the political efforts against him to the Rebel Alliance. He tweeted: “Star Wars against hate. Spread it.” After that happened, Trump supporters lashed out with the hashtag #DumpStarWars. They furthermore complained that by putting Felicity Jones in the lead role, Lucasfilm was peddling feminist propaganda. Weitz eventually deleted the tweets and apologized for them, but the damage was done. A political battle was brewing over a fantasy film that hadn’t even been released yet.

But precisely how political is Rogue One: A Star Wars Story? Disney chief Bob Iger tried to quell the controversy, saying, “There are no political statements in it, at all.” However, having seen the film, I would argue that’s not true at all. Rogue One is less concerned with pitting ideologies against one another than it is with awakening its audience to make its own personal political choices. When the Rebel Alliance is trying to convince Jyn Erso to join their cause, she snaps back that she’s never had the luxury of political opinions. Later, when her mentor asks her how she’ll live in a universe where the Imperial flag waves, she grimly counters, “It’s only a problem if you look up.”

In fact, the entire team we follow is full of people confronted with the choice to fight back against what they perceive as evil or to give up and let it happen. Riz Ahmed‘s Bohdi Rook’s whole character arc is that of a low level Imperial pilot who is constantly reminding himself to do what’s in his heart. You seem him wrestling with his fear up until the very end. Diego Luna’s Cassian Andor has to grapple with the amoral choices he’s made on behalf of his political convictions. When should he follow orders and when is the right time to “go rogue”? And for what cause? The film’s point being that every choice we make has the power to be political. We can choose to let others make the decisions for us — and we can live in a world of their design — or we can speak up and act out on behalf of our own personal convictions. These are questions that Americans of every ideological ilk will have to grapple with in the years to come.

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More importantly, Rogue One is a film about the power of trust. The protagonists must learn to trust each other — and most importantly, in themselves – to find the power and courage to overcome the odds. Whether we’re talking about Jyn and Cassian’s tumultuous relationship or how blind monk Chirrut Imwe (Donnie Yen) is constantly chanting to himself about the power of trusting in the Force, the heroes of Rogue One are looking for something to believe in. They exist in a world where they can’t trust their leaders, their comrades, or even themselves. It’s a zeitgeist that bears a chilling resemblance to what we’re experiencing now. We are finding fewer and fewer places in which we can place our faith. We’re told our leaders are corrupt, our news is fake, and that we can do nothing. Political parties are fracturing and families are in-fighting.

This is state of the universe in Rogue One: A Star Wars Story. Lies are so commonplace that Forest Whitaker’s character hangs out with a giant alien truth-sensing slug. The droid K-2SO is shocked when Jyn continually acts in decent, trusting ways because the odds of that are zilch. At one point, Darth Vader himself drolly explains how the Empire will tell the Senate — its own parliament — that a city’s brutal destruction was just an accident, and not a test of the Death Star. Remember how the Death Star conveniently had a weakness Luke Skywalker could exploit? It was the product of decades of Galen Erso’s deceit. This isn’t a galaxy of hope; it’s a universe built upon a quicksand-like foundation of lies.

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What does Rogue One say is the solution? The usual Pollyanna stuff: working together, trusting each other, and electing to take a stand. It seems all a bit too idealistic, but then the other core theme of this film is hope. “Rebellions are built on hope,” is a catch phrase that pops up. And, of course, the film serves as an immediate prequel to the first Star Wars film: A New Hope. Hope is a weapon against political oppression and it only comes from trust and courage. And hope is a lot harder to kill than a bunch of scrappy rebels.

Rogue One: A Star Wars Story is now in theaters.

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Felicity JonesWho Are They In Rogue One: Spunky rebellion leader Jyn Erso, who father is one of the men responsible for designing the Death StarWhere You Know Them From: Jones has an Oscar nomination for her work in The Theory of Everything, but you may also know her from such films as Inferno, Like Crazy, The Tempest, or even, yes, Chalet Girl.Stream Their Best Work:Where to Watch The Theory of Everything

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Diego LunaWho Are They In Rogue One: The courageous Rebel Alliance Intelligence officer Cassian AndorWhere You Know Them From: Luna got his first major international break with Y tu mama tambien. Since then he's appeared in a variety of both Spanish and English language films, ranging from Dirty Dancing: Havana Nights to Elysium and The TerminalStream Their Best Work:Where to Watch Y tu mama tambien

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Ben MendelsohnWho Are They In Rogue One: Orson Krennic, an ambitious Imperial OfficerWhere You Know Them From: Aussie actor Mendelsohn has been steadily building a name for himself as an actor's actor, meaning actors love him. You've likely noticed him in Animal Kingdom, The Place Beyond The Pines or on Netflix's Bloodline. Stream Their Best Work:Watch Bloodline on Netflix

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Donnie YenWho Are They In Rogue One: Chirrut Imwe, a blind warrior monk who believes in the power of the ForceWhere You Know Them From: Donnie Yen is one of the biggest marital arts stars to emerge from the Hong Kong film industry. You may have remember seeing him face off against Jet Li in Hero or against Jackie Chan in Shanghai Knights. He's also appeared in Iron Monkey, Ip Men, and Flashpoint.Stream Their Best Work:Watch Flashpoint on Netflix

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Mads MikkelsenWho Are They In Rogue One: Galen Erso, Jyn Erso's estranged father, who has been working on building the Death StarWhere You Know Them From: Unless you are a hardcore devotee of Danish cinema, you probably first noticed Mikkelsen as the big bad in Casino Royale. Recently, he starred as Dr. Hannibal Lecter on Hannibal and just faced off against Benedict Cumberbatch in Doctor StrangeStream Their Best Work:Watch Hannibal on Prime Video

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Riz AhmedWho Are They In Rogue One: Former Imperial pilot Bodhi RookWhere You Know Them From: Riz Ahmed has had two stellar breakout performance in the last few years: playing the doomed Rick in Nightcrawler and starring in HBO's The Night Of.Stream Their Best Work:Watch The Night Of on HBO Now

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Jiang WenWho Are They In Rogue One: Hard-boiled mercenary Baze MalbusWhere You Know Them From: Jiang Wen is one of the most popular actors, writers, and directors in China. He's been in dozens of great flicks, such as Hibiscus Town, In the Heat of the Sun, and Devils on the Doorstep. To prep for Rogue One, though, it might be fun to watch his team up with Donnie Yen: The Lost BladesmithStream Their Best Work:Watch The Lost Bladesmith on Amazon Video

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Alan TudykWho Are They In Rogue One: Irascible droid K-2SOWhere You Know Them From: Alan Tudyk is a true chameleon. He's played wildly divergent characters in everything from Firefly to Wonder Boys. Most notably, though, he's carved out a niche for himself doing voice and CGI work. His most dazzling turn? Possibly as another robot in I, Robot. Stream Their Best Work:Where to Watch I, Robot

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Forest WhitakerWho Are They In Rogue One: Grizzled Clone Wars veteran Saw GerreraWhere You Know Them From: Um, well, he's Forest Whitaker. Where don't you know him from? He's been in The Last King of Scotland (for which he won an Oscar), Lee Daniels' The Butler, Arrival, and so much more. Stream Their Best Work:Where to Watch The Last King of Scotland